


Can't Concentrate, It's Another Way To Take

by annemari



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-07
Updated: 2011-06-07
Packaged: 2017-10-20 05:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/209340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annemari/pseuds/annemari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan enrolled into the Bryar Spy Academy after his first year in college. Spencer... didn't exactly follow Ryan, but someone needed to look after him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Concentrate, It's Another Way To Take

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for [random_bandom](http://random-bandom.livejournal.com/), but I was... about 5 months late for that, so. Thanks go out to my wonderful betas [fireangel8723](http://fireangel8723.livejournal.com/) and [fly_meaway](http://fly-meaway.livejournal.com). Title comes from _Come Again_ by Au Pairs.

"I got the file, we can get out now," Spencer says over the intercom. "Ryan. _Ryan_."

"Two seconds," Ryan says right into Spencer's ear.

Spencer closes the door behind him and rushes out into the hallway.

"Ryan, don't jeopardize the mission for this."

Ryan doesn't answer.

"Ryan!"

"Okay, okay, I'm out," comes Ryan's voice from the intercom.

Spencer lets out a breath and moves stealthily down the hallway.

He pauses as he hears someone coming towards him and hides in a doorway. Patrick Stump passes him by without even glancing in his direction.

Spencer doesn't even dare breathe, his heart is pounding so hard.

He waits till the sound of Stump's footsteps has faded and hopes to god that Ryan is on his way out of the building and that Pete isn't lurking in the shadows anywhere. Pete isn't really much for lurking, though, so Spencer takes a deep breath and breaks into a run to reach the exit before time runs out.

Ryan's waiting for him outside along with Travis, Stump and Wentz. Shit.

"Shit," Spencer says.

"Yup," Travis says as Ryan shoots Pete and Patrick a dirty look. "You were almost late."

"Well," Spencer tries. "Almost is better than really? ...Sometimes." He knows he's fucked, the team is supposed to get out more or less together and definitely before the _other_ team.

"We got the extra code," Ryan says, looking straight at Travis.

Travis blinks. "Well, that doesn't change the fact that... Really?"

Pete crosses his arms and Stump grumbles, "There was nothing in the mission statement about an extra file."

Ryan doesn't even spare a glance at them. "That means we win, right?"

Travis sighs. "You would have won anyway if Spencer had gotten here earlier, but —"

"It was my fault," Ryan says, and Spencer rolls his eyes. Ryan has a severe martyr complex when it comes to missions. It's weird. "But I got the file, so."

"Fine, fine," Travis says, tiredly. "It's not about winning, it's about learning, et cetera, congratulations."

Ryan smiles his tight smile at the others, and Pete punches him lightly in the shoulder.

"Fucker," Pete says, grinning. "How did you know about the file?"

Spencer catches Stump looking at him and raises his shoulders in a shrug. Stump looks away, frowning.

Pete throws a hand over Ryan's shoulders and pulls him along, across the park, back to the main building. Stump looks back at Spencer and says, "Good job", lightly, like he's already over Ryan winning the mission and snatching away the victory Wentz and Stump were probably already sure of. Spencer furrows his brow, but nods. They follow Pete and Ryan back through the park.

"You know," Ryan says later, when they're back in the dorm rooms after a long day of training. "They're gonna separate us soon."

Spencer knows. Spies can't get too co-dependent and Ryan and Spencer have never known anything else. They'll have to be paired off with other people soon. At least they're not the only ones who are attached to their partners, so it's probably going to be hard all around. Sometimes Spencer thinks it should have happened sooner. Then again, he doesn't want to work with anyone he doesn't trust, and unfortunately Ryan is the only person he trusts completely.

Guess he'll just have to learn. After all, this is what they're here for.

*  
Ryan enrolled into the Bryar Spy Academy after his first year in college. The students were actively discouraged from saying the name of the school out loud, while the teachers tried to trick them into it. The popular legend was that when you slipped up too much, you got eaten by a dragon. Spencer’s pretty sure either Gabe Saporta or Brendon Urie came up with that one. If it was Brendon, then he probably actually believed it.

Spencer... didn't exactly follow Ryan, but _someone_ needed to look after him. He knows that he didn't have to go, but he didn't really know what else to do, either. So far, things seem to be working out. The school itself is big, but there aren't that many students. There's about twenty others on Spencer and Ryan's course. Most people leave after the first coupe of weeks. It's not that it's _hard_ , not exactly. It's just very... involved. It’s gotten both easier and harder during their second year.

Spencer thinks it’s worth it, though. He’s not really into "protect the country" thing, or whatever, but does care about protecting his friends and family, even though that means he can’t exactly be honest with them. At least he has Ryan.

*

"I'm paired with _Urie_ ," Ryan says as he joins Spencer for lunch.

Spencer sighs. Ryan really doesn't like Brendon Urie, and Spencer can kind of see why — Brendon is like an eager puppy when it comes to proving himself and yeah, that can be annoying — but he's _nice_ and Spencer's not really looking forward to Ryan's snide comments.

"Tragic," he says. "That's tragic, Ryan."

"I know," Ryan whines. "Not only am I not paired with you, I'm paired with somebody who smiles _all the time_. That's not normal!"

"Smiling isn't normal," Spencer repeats.

Ryan huffs. "You know what I mean."

"Why are you complaining to me, anyway?" Spencer asks. "Aren't you supposed to be having lunch with Pete?"

"Pete's being annoying," Ryan says.

Spencer raises his eyebrows.

"More annoying than usual," Ryan amends. "He got Saporta while Mikey Way is paired with the Simmons girl."

Ryan’s always been bad at handling Pete when he gets pissy about stuff like that, he thinks that spies shouldn’t _care_ or some shit. Spencer knows it’s mostly just a defense mechanism. Granted, Pete is probably also being extra annoying. Patrick is still there, though, sitting with Pete. Spencer doesn't get how he stands it. Spencer has enough trouble with Ryan, he couldn't imagine having to listen to Pete all the time.

"Wait," Spencer says, realizing he's failed to specify an important detail. "Who did I get paired with?"

"Oh," Ryan says, pausing mid-bite. "I didn't check."

"No, seriously, why are we friends?" Spencer asks, already getting up.

"Because I'm irresistible," Ryan monotones.

Spencer gives his shoulder a light punch and Ryan makes a wounded face at him.

"Hurry back," Ryan says. "Or I’ll finish your lunch myself."

"You wouldn’t dare," Spencer says, narrowing his eyes.

Ryan smiles up at him, fake-sweet. "Wouldn’t I?"

*

The lists are up in the main hall, which Spencer thinks is very un-spy-like.

When he gets there, though, his view is blocked by a familiar dark head of hair.

"Hey, Brendon," Spencer says.

Brendon whirls around, grinning, and if Spencer wouldn't hate admitting that Ryan is right about something, he'd agree that Brendon's constant smiling can be a little creepy. As it is, he quirks his mouth up in response.

"Hey, Spencer, did you see I'm paired with Ryan?" Brendon asks, sounding excited. Before Spencer gets a chance to answer, though, Brendon's face drops almost comically. "Oh, you probably wanted to be paired with him. I mean, you're best friends and. Um. I'm sorry."

Spencer blinks slowly. Yeah, he would have liked to have gotten Ryan but it's not like it's Brendon's fault.

"It's okay," he says. "Totally."

"Okay," Brendon says, and just like that the smile is back on his face. "So, who are you paired with?"

"I don't know yet," Spencer says.

"Ooh, let's check then!" Brendon says, and turns back to the board.

Spencer leans in to read over Brendon's shoulder. His eyes find his own name and the one next to it just as Brendon says, "Oh, Patrick Stump!"

*

"You're never allowed to call me whiny or annoying again," Ryan says. He was already reaching for Spencer’s sandwich, when Spencer got back to their table. Spencer let him have it.

Spencer frowns at him. "But —"

"Or tell me that I complain too much," Ryan adds.

"But — Patrick _Stump_."

"Yes, you get the guy who's at, like, the top of the class or whatever, and I get _Brendon Urie_. Why are _you_ complaining?"

Spencer splutters. "It just — I don't —" Ryan just stares at him, doesn't even bother to raise his eyebrows. "I just don't think we'd work well together," Spencer finishes lamely.

"Isn't the point of this exercise to _make_ it work?" Ryan asks calmly.

It's really quite unfortunate that Ryan only starts talking sense when Spencer least wants to hear it.

"I actually think that you and Patrick would work quite well," Ryan muses.

Spencer mutters "Shut up" in return and goes back to his lunch.

*

It's going to be a total disaster. Spencer just knows it. He’s not _good_ at group projects. He was never good at them in regular school, and he won’t be good at them here. He _knows_ this. He just didn’t know that he’d also be paired up with _Stump_ , who is supposedly a total control-freak and perfectionist.

Stump finds Spencer right after the assignments are handed out, says "I'll go over this tonight and work out the plan and we'll meet tomorrow in the library, okay." He doesn't even wait for Spencer's answer, just nods and takes off.

Ryan spends the evening complaining about Brendon, without Spencer even getting a word in. Or at least that’s what he tells himself.

Actually, Ryan just scoffs "Urie" at random times, and Spencer nods noncommittally and opens his mouth to say something about Stump, anything, and then stops himself. He's not exactly sure why.

*

The week passes slowly with Spencer growing more and more tense about the situation. They’d met in the library the day after assignments went out, Stump had passed him a copy of the plan he’d come up with and... that had been it.

What’s even more irritating is that Ryan and Brendon seem to be working out a proper plan. Usually Spencer would actually be pleased about that, but right now he just finds it annoying.

He’s even sleeping worse than usual, tossing and turning in bed, frustrated with Patrick Stump.

Most of his lunch hours are spent on debating whether or not to confront Stump about this whole mess. Ryan’s taken to eating solely with him, or sometimes skipping lunch to spend it in the library with Brendon instead. A part of Spencer finds that bizarre, but most of him is just relieved that Ryan’s not around to call him on how grumpy and irrational he’s being.

He glances up from his lunch one day to find Stump laughing about something Pete is telling him. Spencer’s mouth goes dry and a heavy weight settles in his belly. He pushes his sandwich away and goes to sulk some more in his bedroom.

*

The day before the mission, Spencer is _not_ sulking in their dorm room, thank you very much. So he’s kicking his leg against the chair a little harder than usual and drumming his fingers on the desk, but he’s just a bit... antsy. About the mission tomorrow. The mission that is — The mission that Spencer sort of wishes would be a disaster, because is so frustrated with the way this so-called team work has played out so far, but probably won’t be, because Stump’s plan is more or less solid.

Spencer has gone over it exactly once. He knows he should have learned it, Stump gave him enough time for that, but he was so pissed he didn’t even care. There were some things he noticed with only one read-through that they should fix, though. He has his own version of the plan ready, which he adjusted to fit Stump’s and he thinks it would work. Potentially.

He knows, he _knows_ he should just go talk to Stump, but. He kicks at the chair again and swivels around in it to look at Ryan lying on his bed, and sighs.

Ryan throws a long look at him over his book.

"Just talk to him, Spencer."

"It needs to be done by tomorrow," Spencer says, grumpily.

"Then go find him now before your next lesson." Ryan turns back to his book and doesn’t look up again.

Spencer hates it when he’s right.

*

It’s lunch break, so Patrick’s probably at the cafeteria. Spencer squares his shoulders and walks in there before he can overthink this. It’s not a big deal.

He marches up to Pete and Patrick’s table, looks right at Patrick and says, "Can I talk to you outside?"

Patrick blinks. Spencer holds his breath, then releases it, because this is _stupid_. Plus, he’s angry. Right. He raises his eyebrows in question, challenging.

"Oh," Patrick says. "Yeah, sure."

*

"So," Spencer says, when they’re out in the hallway. "The training mission is tomorrow."

"Yeah," Patrick says, looking confused. "I have the plans ready, I gave them to you yesterday, right. I’m sorry that they were a bit late, but — You’ll manage to go over them before tomorrow?"

"That’s really not the point," Spencer says.

Patrick furrows his brow. "I don’t —"

"I thought we were supposed to work out the plan together," Spencer says crossly.

"Oh," Patrick says. "I thought —"

"What?" Spencer snaps. "We— I mean." He falters and looks down. "I mean, I made the plans alone when me and Ryan were paired together, but still, this is a group project and I figured it was all about compromises and finding the best strategy and all."

"You made the plans?" Patrick asks, and Spencer looks up, incredulous.

"You thought _Ryan_ made the plans?" he demands.

"I just —"

Spencer loves Ryan and thinks he's totally amazing at what he does, but someone thinking that Ryan made _his plans_ makes makes him feel so off-balance and disappointed he doesn't even know how to respond. He starts to turn away, wants to get out of here and sort out his feelings about this — this whole mess, but Patrick stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Patrick says, and he sounds pretty wretched. Spencer turns back and crosses his arms in front of him. "I didn't mean — You were just so _natural_ at it."

Spencer blinks confusedly. "Um."

"I mean... I figured it was like me and Pete. I make the plans and Pete, he listens, but mostly he just improvises and wings it and it's like second nature to him."

Spencer has gone round angry and incredulous in the past few minutes and has ended up on completely baffled.

"You thought — Wait." He sorts through everything Patrick's just said and realizes that he's _not_ actually been insulted, but — "Wait, so you think Ryan makes the plans and then sucks at carrying them out?"

Patrick winces. "No, that — I just, I assumed you worked like me and Pete. I didn't mean anything by it, okay, you both do great work. Really."

Spencer breathes out slowly. Patrick looks really apologetic and he fidgets a little under Spencer's gaze. Then, though, he pulls himself up a little taller and stands his ground, while looking completely earnest, and Spencer wishes they would have gotten all this crap out of the way right in the beginning. It would have spared him from some sleepless nights. He feels himself starting to blush as he thinks of it, and quickly looks down.

"Um," he says. "Thanks."

"Yeah," Patrick says quietly. "Um."

"Wait." Spencer whips his head up. "Did you compare me to _Pete_?"

Patrick looks confused for a second and then breaks out into a grin.

"Oops?" he offers. Spencer snickers and throws Patrick a small smile.

"So, um," Patrick says, smile dimming. "Do you still want to work together, or—"

"Yeah," Spencer says, even before his brain registers it. "We— If we could, maybe, go over the plan together and see what works and what doesn’t? I mean, I know it’s tomorrow, but."

"Okay," Patrick nods. "We can meet up tonight, after classes? In the library?"

"Yeah," Spencer agrees. "But maybe — The library is too public? We could meet in my dorm room instead."

Patrick just blinks at Spencer for a moment, before he says, "Yeah, okay".

*

"You invited him to our dorm room?" Ryan asks, incredulous.

"Um," Spencer says, uncomfortable under Ryan's gaze. "Yeah?"

"To our _dorm room_?" Ryan repeats, and his voice gets weirdly squeaky, like when he’s gearing up to rant about something, but he’s not very sure yet what exactly that something is.

"It's not like you haven't invited people here," Spencer says accusingly.

Ryan pauses and Spencer feels his face getting hot.

"People... people I have had sex with, Spence," Ryan chokes out, and then he's laughing. Spencer hates him so badly. "People I — Oh god, Spencer."

"Shut up," Spencer mutters. "I didn't want to meet him in the library, someone could be listening in, okay. People invite each other over to their dorm rooms for other purposes too, you know."

"Not us," Ryan says promptly. "Well, not me."

"Yeah, because you're a weird sex maniac," Spencer shoots.

Ryan punches him lightly in the shoulder. "Shut up. Anyway, you haven't invited anyone over since —"

— That one girl a few months ago, Vicky-T. Spencer had made out with her on his bed. It'd been good, too. It hadn't worked out, but it had been good and Spencer had liked her.

Ryan was right, they only invited people to their dorm room to... well.

And Spencer had invited over Patrick Stump.

*

Patrick shows up after Spencer had sent Ryan away — "Just don't do it on my bed. Or on the kitchen table." — and he talks confidently and looks so composed and all Spencer can do is sit there and think about how he maybe, sort of, wants to kiss him.

He's sitting on his bed and Patrick's sitting in Spencer's desk chair and Spencer can't concentrate on anything he's saying.

He has his notes spread out in front of him and he should be reading them, he knows he should, but Patrick is waving his hand around and tugging on his own hair and Spencer _can't stop staring_.

Thankfully, it seems that Patrick hasn't noticed yet. He's totally focused on explaining his plans and he's not looking at Spencer so Spencer just lets himself stare.

"And then that's it," Patrick finishes and looks up. Spencer quickly snaps his gaze down to his notes.

"Um," he says, grasping for _something_ , something intelligent, something that would hide that he has no idea what Patrick just said. He breathes in and out. "Yeah," he finishes.

"Yeah?" Patrick asks.

"Um," Spencer says.

"Were you — What do you think?"

"Yeah," Spencer says again, and awkwardly clears his throat. "It's... good."

"Spencer," Patrick says, and the tone of his voice makes Spencer look up. Patrick looks... wounded. "Were you even listening?"

"Um," Spencer says.

Patrick goes from wounded to angry in less than a second.

"Fuck this," he says, venomously. "I thought you really wanted to — Whatever."

He gets up and is almost at the door when Spencer's brain kicks into gear and prompts his legs to move and next thing he knows, he's standing in front of the door, holding his palms up to Patrick.

"Wait," he says. "I'm sorry."

Patrick grumbles and tries to push him out of the way. "Whatever, Smith. If you didn't want to do this then you shouldn't have even invited me here."

Spencer makes a strangled noise and kisses Patrick.

His brain is screaming at him, telling him to stop, but Patrick's lips are soft against his and he knows he'll only move away if Patrick wants him to. The only thing that would get him to stop kissing Patrick would be him pushing Spencer away. Patrick's _not_ moving, though, and that's even — He's not responding at all, and that's even worse, that's not okay, and Spencer almost starts to pull away, but — But then Patrick's hands come up and settle on Spencer's hips and he's kissing back, and _yes_.

Spencer's brain is kind of breaking. He certainly didn't plan _this_. And even if he had, he could not have imagined that Patrick would kiss him _back_.

And then Patrick pushes Spencer against the door, breaks the kiss and asks, "What?"

"Um," Spencer says, totally dumbfounded.

"Spencer, _what_?"

"I just — " Spencer says, reaching for Patrick, wanting to pull him back in.

"You just what?" Patrick asks, wary, and he's breathing heavily and his brow is furrowed and he looks young and confused and Spencer _wants_.

"I — Patrick, please," Spencer says, and gently settles his hand on Patrick's waist. "I— I want to kiss you again, please, can I?"

Patrick just stares at him at first, but then his mouth twitches into a small smile.

"You do?" he asks.

Spencer nods fervently. "I really, really do."

"I thought you didn't like me," Patrick says, voice weak. "I mean, you acted like — And I figured, okay, fine, so Spencer Smith doesn't like me, I can deal. I mean, it kind of sucked, 'cause I really liked _him_ , but you know —"

Spencer surges forward and kisses him again, because he can't _not_.

Patrick makes a muffled sound against Spencer's mouth and pushes him back against the door, but this time he doesn't pull away. He deepens the kiss, licks into Spencer's mouth, his hands tightening on Spencer's hips. Spencer can hear himself let out an embarrassingly loud moan and he fists his right hand in Patrick's hair, the other on the back of his neck, bringing him even closer. It feels fucking _amazing_.

"I don't think we're gonna get anything done tonight," Patrick says, once they both stop for a second just to take a breath.

"We can just wing it," Spencer suggests, feeling daring. Patrick frowns at that, and Spencer can't help smiling. "Or we can go with your plan, I learned it, it totally works."

"Really?" Patrick asks, his thumb absently tracing circles on Spencer's hip, driving him insane.

"Sure," Spencer agrees easily, which is another thing he didn't expect. "And next time we'll do it my way."

"I'm not sure they're gonna pair us up that often, actually," Patrick muses, and bites down on his bottom lip, and jesus, that is _it_.

"Patrick," Spencer says, desperate. "So not the point right now."

Patrick looks up and only then seems to remember what they were doing. Spencer could swear there's a faint blush on his cheeks, but he's smiling, and Spencer grins back.

"Yeah," Patrick says, and leans back in.

*

"You didn’t do it on my bed, right," Ryan says the next morning. He’s lying face down on his bed, still in yesterday’s clothes. Spencer doesn’t remember hearing him come in last night. Ryan was out like a light when Spencer woke up in the morning and went to class and he was still asleep when he got back a few minutes ago.

He blushes bright red at Ryan’s question. Ryan blinks up at him.

"No," he says, faintly horrified. "You didn’t."

"Shut up," Spencer says, still blushing. "We just kissed. On my bed. So. Your bed’s safe, or whatever."

Ryan pushes himself up on his elbows. "You didn’t," he says, again, and grins. Spencer smiles back, hesitant.

"Wait," Ryan says. "Why are you here? The mission is today, right?"

Spencer stares at him. "Ryan, it’s three o’clock."

Ryan blinks at the clock on his nightstand. "Oh."

"Seriously, where _were_ you last night?"

Ryan ignores him. "So how did it go?" he asks instead.

"It was good," Spencer says. "Um, I’m meeting him for lunch in ten minutes."

Ryan flops back down on the bed and smiles up at Spencer. "Yeah?"

Spencer nods and doesn’t even try to hide the grin that he feels encompassing his face.

"Well," Ryan says. "Have fun."

"Gee, thanks," Spencer says. He’s almost running late, he realizes. "I’ll see you later, okay."

Ryan waves at him and Spencer heads out. They’re supposed to meet in front of Spencer’s dorm and go out into the city to a cafe. He stops at the top of the steps that lead down from the front door. Patrick’s pacing at the bottom of the stairs, tugging at his sleeves a little.

Spencer smiles to himself and bounds down the steps to join him.


End file.
